My cousin works in Ottawa and posted (on Facebook) a photo taken from her office of the shooting location at the War Memorial. It's directly in front of her office. (She seems to be calm and fine, but, whoa!)

(Edit, I guess she was not entirely calm because she misused an English word in her post - she's fully bilingual but French is her nursery tongue, and she called the man shot "a military" which is the direct translation from the french - a very unusual mistake from her.)

Scary.

It looks like one gunman is down, but they don't know if he was acting alone.

Ages ago we had a group occupy the town hall and take a number of people hostage. (This was in the days before cell phones, so there was no contact with any of the people who worked in the building.) A woman I worked with was very concerned, because her brother was a city employee. Afterwards, it turned out he'd spent the entire time hiding under his desk. She was very relieved.

Ugh so embarrassing -- I just started crying in my meeting with my boss. Especially embarrassing because (as I said to her) it's 90% hormones! As I did not say to her, I have been this overwhelmed for weeks and did not cry, even to my mother!

I don't think anything undermines women as much as the infuriating, helpless hormonal crying.

Ugh shrift, that sucks.

And msbelle, I'm sorry it has been such a hard patch. You are a great mom, and mac knows it. I do feel ya on the yelling front. I yelled at my kids yesterday and immediately regretted it sooo much. I wish I didn't have a temper. I can keep it at bay, but I can't keep it at bay all the time.

For a while there I was completely not embarrassed to cry in public for any or no reason. I think I've lost that, and I miss it. Stupid societal norms.

Timelies all!

We're going to a concert on Halloween, so no trick or treaters for us. (Fleetwood Mac with Christine McVie for the first time in many years- no way we're gonna miss that)

mr. flea just called me at work to say he was at school at the book fair with the kids, and he knows I bought them books this morning as we had agreed I would do, but they want him to buy more books for them, and what should he do? I was like, "Take them home, feed them dinner, do homework and put them to bed. Without buying them more books just because they want you to." I mean, hello? I am so tired of being the only grownup in my house.

What the heck did he think you'd say?? Eesh. Pushover.

I am killing time outside a Starbucks--finished work in one place early but can't meet with the doctor and have her sign things until 5pm. Except all my electronics are running out of battery but the plugs are all in use indoors.

Also, stupid AT&T pushed back the ship date of my phone AGAIN. Now it's the second half of November. Wtf???